When it’s done well, your analogy takes a completely foreign idea and it makes it acceptable.

Analogies create safety.

Safety gives your clients the ability to assess risk. When they’re safe, they’re in a position to evaluate your pitch and make a decision. They can’t make the decision you want if they’re not feeling safe.

Where do you start?

What are some analogies you can use to instantly convey value to prospective clients?

Analogy #1: Hungry on a Road Trip

The vast majority of adults have driven on a highway. If you’re like most people, you’ve done your fair share of traveling, which means you’ve also experienced the unpleasant downside to driving on the highway.

Need.

If you’ve traveled with kids, you know what I’m talking about. A potty emergency where kids are in full panic mode. They need to get to a bathroom.

Now.

If you’ve done a fair bit of driving on the highway, you’ve experienced hunger on the road. You’ve run out of gas. You’ve needed a place to stay for the night.

So, you look for this:

Or this:

Right?

This analogy is perfect because it meets the criteria we established earlier.

· Easy to understand. We’ve spent years looking for and reading these signs. So, as far as analogies go, it’s intuitive and self explanatory.

· Commonly used. When we need something, we automatically look for these signs. Which is exactly what customers do when they search for something online.

· Relevance. Customers searching on Google have the same problem. There’s a need, a problem customers want solved. Could be as simple as finding a great place to eat or as complex as corporate tax planning advice. The Road trip analogy works because it’s analogous to search.

When do you use this analogy? You use it…

On your website

On your direct mail pieces

With images (e.g. road signs)

In your pitch

Here’s the great part about this analogy. It’s an excellent way to explain local SEO, knowledge panels and local packs, without boring or overwhelming customers.

Analogy #2: High School Gossip

Gossip is an unpleasant fact of life. Most of us got our first taste of gossip from school. Gossip takes place at school and at work – it’s unavoidable.

It’s no different with your clients. Customers, competitors, the market – they all have something to say about their business. When their business is criticized unfairly it affects their revenue. This gossip hurts financially, and the worst part is, it’s completely out of their control.

Or, is it?

What if they can control it?

You obviously can’t control what individual customers say. But what if your clients were able to guide the direction and flow of the conversation? What if you were able to control the perception and influence of your company?

Online review marketing and management puts clients in the driver’s seat. They may not be able to control what indirect reviewers think but, with your help, they’ll be able to direct the overall flow of the conversation.

These analogies won’t work for everyone

And you know what? The skeptics are right. These analogies aren’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. When it comes to customer motivations, we’re all different.

There’s a simple solution to this seemingly messy problem.

Spend time with your customers. Get to know them. If you’re dealing with low volume requests in your industry you can deal with them one-on-one. Study their psychographics. Learn more about their interests, then create a tailor made analogy just for them. Your conversion rates will thank you.

What if you need a scalable solution?

Do the upfront work, really get to know your audience up front. Every industry, culture or subculture has its own set of interests.

Take developers for example.

Developers may enjoy playing an instrument, watching anime, play video games, building their computers and of course, writing code. See the trend?

Study your audience and customers will give you the materials you need to create the perfect analogy.

Most clients are on a losing streak

Non-digital clients spend their time running from one fire to the next. They’re focused on the most urgent problems so their losing streak only seems to get worse.

You can save them…

If you have the right analogy. The right analogy gives them clarity and focus. It gets you past their filters. They’re too ashamed, too embarrassed to admit they don’t understand.

You have a way in.

With the right analogy you’ll have everything you need to convince your client you can turn their losing streak around.